Lifting and lowering apparatus.



w. F. :R'RGANG,

LIFTiNG AND LOWERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.8.1917- Patentefl 5am. 8

2 SIGHTS-SHEET 2.

- IN V ENTOR.

WITNESSES;

ATTORNEYS.

WILLIAM F. IRRGANG, OF WINDSOR LOCKS, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 GEORGE 1.

CLARK COMPANY, OF WINDSOR LOCKS,CONNEGTICUT, ACORPORATION OF GON- NEGTICUT.

, LIFTING Ann LOWEBING errenerus.

1 Specificatibn of LettersPatent.

Patented J an. 8, Mile.

Application filed anuar s, 1917. Serial in. 141,203.

To all'whomz't may concern: c

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM F. IRRGANG, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Windsor Looks, in the countyof Hartford and State of Connecticut, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Lifting and Lowering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements 1n lifting and lowering apparatus and, 'whlle the invention may be applied generally, it finds one preferred speclfic use'as a means for lifting and lowering casters. Castersof the elevating type are disclosed in my prlor Patent No. 1,174,582, granted March 7 1916. Casters of the elevating type" as disclosed in this patent comprise a wheeled frame adapted for attachment to the leg of a bed, table, or the like, to support the latter in the usual manner, together with mechanism whereby the caster frame may be raised when desired to lift the wheel from supporting engagement with the floor, the weight of the article on the caster frame beingsupported independently of the wheel. Such casters are particularly usefulin hospitals, for example, as supporting devices for beds, operating tables and the like, for while it is frequently necessary to roll the bed or table from point to point, it is at all other times desirable to prevent the supported body from rolling, so that it cannot be readily displaced. A furthpr advantage of casters of the type described lies in increased life of. the caster wheels, particularly when rubber tired wheels are employed, for, When the wheels are not in use, all weight may be removed therefrom. p

The broad object of this invention is to provide in a lifting and loweringapparatus, a jack mechanism with an actuating member therefor and an automatic means to alternately setthe jack mechanism for lifting and lowering operations, so that successive actuations of the member will alternately raise and lower the mechanism. 1 V n An object of thisinvention is to provide a caster of the class described wherein a single lever is exposed for actuation, which, when successively depressed, will alternately effect a raising and lowering of the caster, together with a positive locking of the parts in raised positionand a positive release of vide a' caster frame having a wheel mounted in'offset relation to the vertical axis of the frame, a plunger slidable in the frame in l ne with the axis of the latter, a lever to de press said plunger to the floor and thereafter raise the frame with the plunger as a fulcrum, means to lock the plunger in raised position, and devices operable on a subsequent depression of the lever to release said means and permit the frame to be lowered under the control of the operator.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description to follow and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings as illustrating one preferred manner in which the invention may be practised- Figures 1 and 2 are side and front elevational views, respectively, of the caster with the wheel thereof in lowered position;

Fig. 3 is aplan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view, taken similarly to Fig. l, showiiigthe wheel in raised position and the parts injthe relative positions which obtain at the end of the lifting movement;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the relative positions of the parts which obtain after the operating lever is released at the end of the lifting movement;

Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig.6;

a Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view taken 011 the line 88 of Fig. 6; and

N Fig. 9 is a detail view showing the connection of the springs to the trip finger.

The invention although capable of general application, will be described for illustrative purposes in one of its specific uses, namely, as a lifting and lowering means for a caster.

Referring to the drawings in detail; the caster frame comprises a vertically disposed hollow semi-cylindrical portion 10 from which a pair of integral wings 11 extend laterally in spaced parallelrelation, as best shown in 3 and 7. An axle 12, fixed in wings 11, rotatably supports a suitable caster wheel- 13, which is rotatable between :supported by leg at will comenpon the'latch arms 26 and betransmitted. through pivot 25 and plunger 17. tothe; fioor. It-is to be pin 29 he close to the vertical axis of pin-1,5.

As. the pressureis removed from foot lever 23, spring 36. immediately. throws. the

lever upwardly into abutment with the under side of bridge 14: and trip. finger 33,.which has been held by surface39 ofythelever is thrown to the right into therecess in ledge -2 l, .all as shown in Fig. 6. The contraction 15 of spring. 36 doesnot, however, tend to withdraw to latch arms 26. It is to be noted that the foot lever, when not in use, always occupies substantially. thewsame position relatively to the .caster framelaswillbe seen from a comparison ofl igs. .4: andfl6. The parts, now posltioned as shown 1n Fig.6,

are arranged so that a subsequent depression of lever 23 will release the latch arms. 26 and allow the caster to be lowered to the fioorfunder the control .of the operator. Thus aslever 23 is depressed the part 24 first engages the upper face of trip finger 33 and depresses it toJthe level of ledge 21. Further movement of lever 23 will lift the caster frame relatively to the plunger 17 and thus raise pin 29 out-of recesses .28 in. the

latch arms 26. Spring 36 is elongated and putunder tension, but trip finger 83 cannot be pulled upwardly by the springsince it isengaged by projection 24. The spring38 becomes compressed against theifinger 27 as finger 33is depressedby the lever 23 and as pin 29 is raised from the latcharms, the compressed spring 38 forces finger 27'. downwardly and thus causes'arms 26 to move to theright out of the path of'pin 29. As. trip finger 33 is depressed, the rounded end of projection 24 eventually rests in the rounded recess in the upper: endof finger 33 so, that the latter is held from moving to: the right or from moving,upwardly. The arrangement is such that spring 38 is causedto act against finger-27 to hold arm 26 out of the path of pin 29 until the wheel 13 has been lowered and until plunger 17 has moved upwardly a suiiicient distance to bring the recesses 28 above the pin. The operator, after arms 26h'ave beenwithdrawn, still has his foot on lever 23sothat wheel 13 may be loweredgently to the floor." Thereafter, as lever '23 is released,spring 3-6 draws the latter and plunger 17 upwardly and trip finger 33 is thrown to the right, the parts-being automatically returned into the positions shown in Fig. 4.

It will be obvious that the caster device described may readily be converted into a jack by simply omitting the caster wheel 13 and cutting off the parts of the wings 11 which protrude beyond the members 14 and thing as 1s possible when, as heretofore, two

levers are exposed for actuation. The exerciseof judgment on the part of the operator is unnecessary for successful manipulatmn of this device since only one lever is avail able for actuation and since this lever can be actuated in but one way, namely, bydepression and release. There have been casters,

wherein a single operating lever has been exposed for operation, but thedescribed structure is to be distinguished from such casters .by its arrangement for fool-proof operation. Thus, with singlelever casters, as heretofore used, automatic means operable by depressionof the lever have been provided to lock the caster in raised. position,.which means are arranged to be re leased upon afurther depression of the lever. Such devices are perfectly satisfactory when used with care and skill, but they do require the exercise of personal judgment for successful operation. Thus, the operator as he depresses the foot pedal must feel when the locking means. operates and must take care not to further depress the pedal or these same means will be released and the caster with the weight thereon. will drop unexpectedly to the fioor as the pedal is. released. The present structure cannot be so manipulated. Thus, lever 23 may be depressed as far as possible to bring recesses 28 below pin 29, but arms 26 will be continually forced toward the pin until the lever 23 has been released for, as shown in F 1g. 5,. the trip finger. lS held by surface -39of thelever from movin to the right so that the trip finger is positively kept out of the path of projection 24 and as long as this condition obtains the latch arms cannot be released. Thus, a positive locking of the caster frame in raised position is pro vided. Similarly, when on a subsequent depression of the foot lever, arms 26 are retracted, these arms are positively held retracted until the caster frame is lowered.

There is no possibility for the arms 26 to snap into locking position until the pin 29 has been first lowered below recess 28 and then raised again. Thus, the mechanism op erates automatically by foot lever 23 and correct operation is obtained without reliance on the skill of the operator, in fact the human intelligence has been eliminated as a factor in the Successful operation of the preferred form for illustrative purposes, but

the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. 'What I claim is- 1. A caster device comprising in combination, a frame, a plunger slidable therein, a lever pivoted to the frame and arranged to depress the plunger into engagement with the fioor and thereafter lift the frame with the plunger as a fulcrum, means to hold the frame in raised position, and means operable on a subsequent depression of the lever to release the first-named means and permit the frame to be lowered to the floor.

' 2. A caster device, comprising, in combination, a frame, a plunger slidable therein, a lever pivoted to the frame, and having a part extending outwardly therefrom for actuation-and mechanism associated with the plunger and constructed so that successive depressions of said lever will alternately effeet a raising and lowering of said frame.

. 3. A caster device, comprising, in combination, a frame, a plunger slidable therein, a lever pivoted to the frame, resilient means connecting the plunger and lever and normally holding both retracted, said lever arranged when depressed to force the plunger to the floor and thereafter lift the frame with the plunger as a fulcrum, and means on the plunger movable into engagement with the frame to hold the latter in raised position.

a. A caster device, comprising, in combination,'a frame, a plunger slidable therein, a lever'pivoted to the frame, resilient means connecting the plunger and lever and normally holding both retracted, said lever arranged when depressed to force the plunger to the floor and thereafter lift the frame with the plunger as a fulcrum, means on the plunger movable into engagement with the frame to hold the latter in raised position, and devices operable on a subsequent depression of said lever to release said last-named means and permit the frame to be lowered and said resilient means to retract the plunger and lever.

5. A caster device, comprising, in combination, a frame, a plunger slidable therein, a lever pivoted to the frame, a latch plvoted Copies of this patent may be obtained for to the plunger, resilient means connecting the lever to said latch and adapted to hol the plungerand lever in retracted position,

said lever arranged whendepressed to -force the plunger into engagement with the floor and thereafter lift the frame with the plunger as a fulcrum, said latch adaptedto be thrown bysaid means intoengagement with apart of the frame when the latter is lifted to lock the frame in raised position, and.-

means to prevent the release of said. latch until the lever has been drawn upwardly by said resilient means.- V

6. A caster dev1ce, compr1s1ng, 1n combito the plunger,a pin in the frame adapted to be engaged by the latch, a trip fingerhaving a part to engagesaid latch,resilient means connecting said'finger and leveroperableto throw the latch'toward said pin, said lever arranged'when depressed to force theplunable means between the finger and latch, said finger'having a part .adapted to be engaged on a "subsequent?depression of the lever to compress saidyieldable means, the latter arranged to retract thelatch as the frame is raised on continued, depression of the lever,.whereby the frame may be lownation, a frame, a plunger slidable therein, .a lever pivoted to the frame, alatch pivoted ger to the fioor and to thereafter: lift the frame withthe plunger as a fulcrum, said latchhaving a part arranged to bethrown into locking engagement withthe pinto hold. the frame in raised position, andyieldcred, said finger and yieldable means arranged tohold the latch retracted until the lever has been thrown upwardly by'said resilient means. V

'matically operable by relative movement of member and support in one direction to efiect a relative movement between the member and support, in the other dIIBCtlOIIHPOll a subsequent actuatlon of said means.

fivecents each, addressing the {(-ommisai $ner of Patents,

Washington, 110. a

WILLIAM F. 'IRRGANG. 

